More stations drop political advertisement

September 29, 2006|JAMES WENSITS Tribune Political Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Area cable and broadcast television stations have joined WSBT-TV and WNDU-TV in pulling a campaign ad submitted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee attacking U.S. Rep. Chris Chocola, R-2nd, the Chocola campaign announced Thursday. The DCCC ad, which WSBT and WNDU dropped Wednesday, accused Chocola of accepting pay raises for himself and voting against raising the minimum wage. "We just thought it was too misleading," said Matt Jaquint, WNDU general manager, explaining his station's decision. Congressional pay raises are automatic, but the Chocola campaign insisted that Chocola voted to raise the minimum wage in what was the only up or down vote on the subject. "Yes, we did," said Jeff Guy, general manager at WBND-TV, the ABC outlet, when asked if his station had pulled the ad. Steve Morris, station manager at WSJV-TV Fox 28, whose station also pulled the ad, said it "appeared to be misleading" regarding the minimum wage vote. Chocola spokesman Brooks Kochvar said Thursday that Comcast has pulled the ad from 12 cable stations, but an attempt to reach a Comcast spokesman to verify that was unsuccessful. DCCC spokesman Bill Burton, who had maintained in an earlier story that the ad is accurate, declined to make an additional comment for today's story. When asked why his station decided to drop the ad, John Mann, WSBT general manager, said the station's policy is not to discuss advertising and content-related issues with anyone other than the advertiser. However, Mann said the station rejects dozens of ads each year, both political and nonpolitical. WSBT and The Tribune are owned by Schurz Communications Inc.